This course discusses 12 topics about the universe, each of which has long proven fascinating to the general public.

The professor, director of New York’s Hayden Planetarium, covers cosmic issues ranging from the Big Bang, how astronomers look for new planets, and the threat that asteroids pose to the Earth, to such smaller but still profound questions as why so many objects in nature are round.

Whether explaining the likelihood of finding life on other worlds, or describing how you would be "spaghettified" in a black hole, these lectures convey serious science in a way that is clear and often entertaining.